Heifer proceeds going to Black Dog Ride

Top cause: The 14-month-old Droughtmaster heifer, Deep Valley Crystal (P) D5, will be sold at the Drinks with Droughties event the night prior to the Droughtmaster National Sale with all proceeds going to Black Dog Ride.

Guests at the Drinks with Droughties function being held on the eve of the Droughtmaster National Sale, are being encouraged to bid up a storm on a lovely heifer being auctioned on the night with her sale proceeds to support Black Dog Ride.

The team at Savage, Barker & Backhouse will be providing their services free of charge on the night to auction the heifer, and buyers will also be able to bid online through Elite Livestock Auctions, thanks to the generous assistance of Chris Norris.

Droughtmaster National Sale guests along with buyers from throughout Australia can bid on the heifer and view the sale, with all proceeds going to the Black Dog Ride charity which was created to raise awareness of depression and suicide.

For more than a decade Peter and Judy Milton, Dardanup, WA, have been soliciting, preparing and showing a steer and then selling him at Perth Royal Show in support of Black Dog Ride with great success and maximum exposure provided for the charity.

“The fact that the steers were slaughtered upset some people, so we decided to work with heifers so they can be sold to go back to a paddock and live out an idyllic life as a productive cow,” Mr Milton said.

Deep Valley Crystal has a companion on her tour, a Fresian-cross heifer named Clementine, and Mr Milton said during their various public appearances together, they’ve both behaved beautifully.

“We enjoy tremendous support from a local mining company, Iluka Resources who’ve given Black Dog Ride a new horse float and a 4WD Ute to take the heifer to Kununurra stopping at towns and remote communities along the way to raise awareness both on-site and with the powers that be in the city of just how much suffering is occurring in the bush,” he said.

The heifer will remain in WA until the sale has concluded, after which Doug and Dani Giles, Quicksilver Droughtmaster Stud, Newdegate, WA have generously offered to deliver the heifer free of charge to the purchaser (even if it’s purchased by a buyer from the eastern states).

Full pedigree details, photos and video of Deep Valley Crystal (P) D5 are available on the Droughtmaster National Sale website, droughtmasternational.com.

For further enquiries please contact the Droughtmaster Society on (07) 3281 0056, and for more information on the objectives of the Black Dog Ride charity organisation please visit blackdogride.com.au.